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Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Songezo Zibi, has said that the finance minister is not a superman, and that the National Treasury cannot be omnipresent, making sure that municipalities are being financially responsible. 

Zibi made the remarks during the Parliament’s Finance Cluster Committee on Monday, where he addressed the role of the committee on fiscal expenditure, including the infrastructure spending and the cost reductions.

His remarks come after Enoch Godongwana said municipalities must return to the “foundational principle of fiscal integrity”, where revenue collected for a specific service is first used to sustain and maintain that service.

Godongwana warned that diverting funds away from core trading services such as water and electricity risks long-term system failures. He added that municipalities that do not practice fiscal integrity contribute to growing maintenance backlogs and deteriorating infrastructure.

“If this practice of collecting revenue from basic services while diverting the funds to unrelated functions continues, maintenance backlogs will grow, services deteriorate, and critical infrastructure systems eventually collapse,” Godongwana said.

Godongwana singled out Johannesburg’s water finances as a stark example.

The city generates R11.9 billion in water revenue, yet only R1.3 billion is allocated to Joburg Water for capital expenditure. “This has contributed to the massive backlog of R64 billion that is needed to fix water supply problems in the city,” Godongwana said.

Godongwana warned that if the City of Johannesburg does not turn things around, the National Treasury will be forced to intervene as the national government “cannot be a spectator” as the metro’s infrastructure deteriorates.

Zibi said that while there appears to be an expectation that the Finance Minister can ensure fiscal responsibility across hundreds of government authorities, this is not founded in the reality of how a functioning political system should work.

“Neither the finance minister nor the officials of the Treasury are an omnipresence that watches administrative and policy decisions, like a hawk, to ensure that public funds are allocated and used efficiently. There's simply not enough of them to do that.

“Our constitutional scheme places a responsibility on every public institution, and all public officials, like ourselves here from Parliament, to ensure that South Africans owners get the best value for their taxes.

“Too much of the funds allocated by the finance minister for social and economic development are lost to ill-considered policy and administrative decisions, poor financial management and corruption," Zibi said.

“When this happens, it is not possible to fulfil what the president and minister say in their respective policy statements at the beginning of the year.

“Projects end up costing more because of poor project management on the ground and poor contract management. It is not uncommon for contractors to be allowed to miss critical deadlines, and in some cases, eventually be evicted after getting paid. But there is no consequent attempt to recover the funds.

“That puts the treasury in an impossible position of having to come up with more funds for the same projects, sometimes to suffer recurrence.”

Zibi said that given the prevalence of mismanagement and criminality, it is important that Parliament, provincial and municipal public accounts committees work very closely with the auditor-general to safeguard the funds.

“When we listen to the finance minister speaking, and we ask ourselves, what is the finance minister going to do? The finance minister is not a superman or superwoman, depending on the gender of the finance minister at the time.

“They can't be everywhere. If municipalities aren’t performing, then you've got a serious problem. The economy can’t grow. So much of this is caused by the employment of unsuitable people to critical management and executive positions.

“I am (also) not happy that the government is just hunting for ghost workers, which is very important. What we additionally need is a skills review and audit, to be prepared to redeploy, or eject people who are either non-performing or under-qualified, for the work that they do.”

*This article was first published by IOL News

DA MP Siviwe Gwarube has confirmed she is running for Deputy Federal Chairperson.

The DA is expected to hold the national federal congress in April 2026.

Gwarube made the announcement on X on Monday, declaring: “Yes it is true, I am running!” She said the DA must grow into the country’s largest party to deliver meaningful national change.

“The truth is simple: we need to be the largest party in South Africa in order to bring the change so desperately needed,” she wrote, calling for leaders who can “organise, build and expand our support in every province and every community.

“Only a growing DA can deliver a growing SA,” she stated that growth is survival.

She is not alone in entering the fray. DA MP Karabo Khakhau has accepted nomination for Deputy Chairperson of the Federal Council, vowing to strengthen party structures.

“Democrats. I have accepted nomination to serve as our DA deputy chairperson of Federal Council. Together we can build structures and win the Future.”

Meanwhile, Geordin Hill-Lewis and Solly Msimanga have both confirmed bids for senior national leadership roles.

Hill-Lewis is campaigning on his governance record in Cape Town, citing job creation and service delivery.

Msimanga has pledged to consolidate support and energise voters nationwide.

This is after party leader John Steenhuisen has announced he will not seek re-election, triggering a high-stakes internal contest and opening space for generational renewal.

*This article was first published by IOL News

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the 2026 National Budget will accelerate inclusive growth, create jobs, and tackle poverty, as government builds on recent progress to stabilise and reform the economy.

In his weekly letter to the nation, speaking on the budget presented by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, Ramaphosa said every allocation reflects a developmental choice aimed at improving the material conditions of South Africans.

“Every budgetary allocation is a developmental choice: ensuring there are teachers in classrooms, nurses and doctors in clinics, electricity and basic services in homes and businesses, infrastructure to grow the economy, and employment opportunities for communities,” he said.

The president said the budget comes after a prolonged period of economic uncertainty but builds on progress made in recent years to stabilise, reform, and transform the economy.

Improvements in public finances, stabilising debt, a narrowing budget deficit, credit rating upgrades, and improved market confidence all signal what he described as the beginning of an economic recovery.

“A stable macroeconomic environment boosts investor confidence and increases the government’s capacity to invest in both growth and poverty relief without compromising sustainability,” Ramaphosa said.

He added that the stabilisation of public finances had created space to accelerate public investment, sustain the social wage, and direct resources to reforms that drive growth and job creation.

The social wage accounts for over 60% of government spending after interest payments.

Ramaphosa said the allocation for the current financial year will enable government to provide healthcare services to 84% of the population, social grants to 26.5 million beneficiaries, and free basic services to more than 11 million indigent households. 

It will also support approximately 13.6 million learners at school.

“This is a redistributive budget that reduces inequality, builds the capabilities of our people and strengthens the foundations for inclusive growth,” he said.

Ramaphosa said Basic education has been identified as a key foundation for long-term growth.

Additional spending has been allocated to employ more educators, while further funding has been directed to the early childhood development grant to reach an additional 300,000 children and to align the National School Nutrition Programme with food inflation.

The budget also places strong emphasis on infrastructure as a driver of inclusive growth, he said.

Over the next three years, public spending on infrastructure will exceed R1 trillion to build and maintain roads and rail lines, expand energy infrastructure, and invest in water and sanitation systems.

“Improved infrastructure lowers the cost of doing business, raises productivity, and supports our country’s exports,” Ramaphosa said.

However, he acknowledged that the government cannot finance infrastructure needs on its own.

''We are therefore mobilising investment from private and other sources, and opening the space for public-private partnerships.

''As we encourage private investment in electricity, rail, and port operations, we are maintaining state ownership of strategic national infrastructure,'' he said.

Under Operation Vulindlela, departments and public entities are undertaking reforms in energy, telecommunications, water, and logistics. 

Ramaphosa also conceded that many municipalities remain in financial distress, driven by weak revenue collection, poor management, and substantial service delivery backlogs.

Over the medium term, R19.2 billion will be reallocated to reform electricity, water, sanitation and solid waste trading services in metros, with funding linked to performance against clear targets, he said. 

The Municipal Infrastructure Grant is being reformed to address underspending and misuse of funds. Over the next three years, R86.9 billion has been allocated to support the provision of free basic services to indigent households.

To stimulate employment, an additional R4.1 billion has been allocated to the Presidential Employment Stimulus to provide work opportunities to more young South Africans.

He said the Government has also moved to ease the regulatory burden on small businesses by more than doubling the VAT registration threshold and significantly increasing the capital gains tax exemption for small business owners who wish to sell or transfer their enterprises.

Ramaphosa said the budget is anchored on three imperatives: maintaining fiscal sustainability, driving inclusive growth, and protecting society’s most vulnerable.

“As we build on the momentum of our recovery, we will continue to be guided by fiscal discipline, structural reform, targeted investment and an overarching commitment to improving the material conditions of every South African,” he said.

*This article was first published by Eye Witness News

South Africans stranded in the conflict-ridden Middle East have been urged to contact the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), as tensions escalate in the region.

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has confirmed that about 14 flights between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and South Africa have been cancelled, leaving many stranded.

This, as tensions in the Middle East worsened over the weekend, with ongoing airstrikes and military action involving Iran, Israel and the United States (US).

*This article was first published by Eye Witness News

The Iranian embassy in South Africa is in mourning following the assassination of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei was killed in Israeli and American airstrikes over the weekend, sparking retaliatory attacks from Tehran.

In response, the Iranian military has launched strikes on Gulf countries in the Middle East that are believed to be hosting United States (US) military bases.

The spokesperson for the Iranian embassy in South Africa, Hamidreza Oraee, said the US is in violation of multiple international laws.

“The cowardly terrorist act carried out by the United States of America regime and the Zionist regime targeting the prominent leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and other senior officials of the country as part of a military aggression against the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran constitutes an unprecedented result on all normative and ethical principles recognised by humanity.”

Meanwhile, in a video posted on social media app Truth, American President Donald Trump has urged authorities in Iran to surrender.

“I, once again, urge the Iranian military and police to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death. It will be certain death. It won’t be pretty.”

*This article was first published by Eye Witness News

Forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan will return on Thursday to continue his evidence before Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating corruption in the criminal justice system.

Last Thursday, O’Sullivan stormed out of proceedings after indicating that he had a flight to catch.

This angered members of the committee who agreed that O’Sullivan must be summoned and forced to appear.

On Monday, the ad hoc committee during its housekeeping meeting received a legal on O’Sullivan’s walkout and its legal options.

But O’Sullivan has since agreed to come back voluntarily.

Evidence leader Norman Arendse explained: “In relation to O’Sullivan himself, he has confirmed that he will be in attendance on Thursday to conclude the questioning by advocate Bongiwe Mkhize. Think she had two or three questions lefts.”

*This article was first published by Eye Witness News